You can easily freeze any 100 percent juice of juice drink, from orange to pineapple, to create delicious summertime treats.  Click here for a few recipes that we found with a quick Internet search.

Our member companies offer a range of great tasting products, including 100 percent juice, that can be a tasty and refreshing part of a balanced diet.  Check out our website to find out who makes what.

Just don’t forget to put a popsicle stick in your juice before your freeze it, or else you will be cooling off with a sticky mess!

You can get a lot of these things from the fruits and vegetables that you should consume each day.  But there are other options as well to help you get these needed nutrients – such as 100 percent fruit juice.  In fact, 100 percent juice can help give you that nutritional bump that you’ve been missing.  Check out our products page for more information on these and other product categories.

And – from soft drink cans to 100 percent juice containers – all of our member companies’ packaging is 100 percent recyclable, so while you are on the move, don’t forget to “Think Inside the Bin.“

A message worth heeding as the Congress comes back to work today. And the President is ready to give a big speech on health reform tonight.

If our leaders learned anything over the August recess we hope it’s that taxpayers are leery of any reform that costs them more money without giving them something they don’t already have or need or want. Regular, hard-working folks aren’t in a position to pay more for much right now – especially if there’s no value, benefit or priority in it for them.

Well, while there are some good, sound ideas for improving health care out there by lawmakers in both parties (ideas that get to lowering costs, for example), the activists have been busy with a singular focus on pushing for a tax on soft drinks and other beverages to pay for health care reform. So, heading into the next phase of this important debate, it might behoove lawmakers to keep a few facts in mind when it comes to this idea.

1.) A soft drink tax simply won’t work. There’s a book of evidence supporting this point. Just a few highlights. A.) West Virginia and Arkansas are two states with excise taxes on soda like the one being talked about in Washington. Those states have the fifth- and sixth-highest obesity rates in America, according to the CDC. B.) This week, University of Chicago researchers concluded: “Current state-level tax rates are not found to be significantly associated with adolescent weight outcomes.” C.) A George Mason University study showed that a 15-cent tax per can of soda would reduce a person’s Body Mass Index by just .02 (40 to 39.98). That’s not even measurable on a bathroom scale! D.) Even the leader of an American Heart Association panel that issued a study last week on childhood obesity conceded that there is “limited evidence” that a soft drink tax would work. We appreciate that piece of candor, which many activists lack, but as one can see, there’s actually a great deal of real-world evidence showing that a soft drink tax won’t work. Bottom line: We can’t tax our way to better health. These taxes are just a façade for a money grab, pure and simple.

2.) A soft drink tax further squeezes the middle class struggling through a recession. The tax is discriminatory and regressive. The Congressional Research Service did a study showing that the tax burden would by far be borne most by those who can least afford to pay it. Furthermore, 96 percent of the tax would be paid by low-income and middle-class families – in all, those earning less than $250,000 a year. It doesn’t seem wise to be taxing people’s groceries in the middle of a recession. Bottom line: Didn’t leaders promise not to tax the middle class in this last election?

3.) Government shouldn’t tell people what to eat. The strong majority of Americans believe it is an over-reach by government to use the tax code to tell them what to eat or drink. They don’t view it as government’s role. It’s an uninvited intrusion into basic elements of people’s lives. Bottom line: Lawmakers cross this line at their own risk. Just ask leaders in New York and Maine, whose beverage tax ideas were overwhelmingly rejected by the public.

4.) A complex health system needs comprehensive solutions. You’re not going to solve the complexities of health reform with a tax on soda pop. In fact, you’re not even going to make a dent in the problem. Bottom line: This country’s got much bigger problems if its leaders are building a new health system on such a shaky foundation as a tax on food. Seriously!

5.) It’s soda pop, for Pete’s sake. Like most foods, regular soft drinks have calories. Soda pop is a fun, refreshing beverage meant to be enjoyed. It’s nothing more, nothing less. So the money-seeking, agenda-toting, self-proclaimed we-know-what’s-best-for-everyone-busybodies should stop making soda out to be more than what it is. Our industry certainly doesn’t. The compendium of science says all calories count, regardless of the food source, when it comes to maintaining one’s weight. That’s irrefutable. And it drives the advocates crazy. Bottom line: You can be a healthy person and drink regular soda. Tens of millions of Americans are proof.

In summary, it’s not hard to let your imagination go if Congress and the President pursue a tax on soda, juice drinks, sports drinks and other beverages as some propose. (That’s right – this tax isn’t just on soda but on any beverage with even a little bit of sugar in it, including teas and juices.)

If government starts taxing simple pleasures like soda, where does its long arm stop once it realizes that didn’t work? Tax cheeseburgers? Fries? Shakes? All products with sugar? Any products with any taste? Evidence shows it still won’t change people’s behaviors; just burden them with more taxes.

Let’s focus on improving the health care system with meaningful and sustainable solutions — not with distracting one-offs like taxing people’s food. People have enough burdens right now. Leave them alone.

As the wise man said: “In an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class.”

Because so many varieties of produce reach their peak during the summer months, it’s the perfect season to experiment with new and exotic fruits and veggies-or to rely on some of your favorites from childhood. During summertime, many cities have farmers markets which are a great way to find the freshest produce and support local agriculture. Walking through a local farmers market is a fun way to get some exercise and fresh air while also spending a pleasant afternoon with the entire family! And if farmers markets are not an option in your area, why not try growing your own fruits and vegetables? Whether you live in a city apartment or a country cottage, there are plenty of options that you can cultivate on a windowsill or a patch of land.

But it’s also important to remember that there are other ways to “squeeze” in your recommended fruit and vegetable servings. In fact, here at the ABA, we are proud to have member companies that make a variety of fruit and vegetable juices which are both wholesome and refreshing. Juices are not only delicious, thirst-quenching beverages, but are also an easy way to get a serving of fruit and vegetables at home or on-the-go. Our members are constantly innovating with new flavor combinations of these essential fruits and vegetables that can satisfy even the choosiest palette — like that of your three-year-old son Max, who only eats mac-n’-cheese.

As parents, we want to teach our kids how to incorporate fruits and vegetables, along with whole grains, dairy and lean protein, into their diets. Teaching proper nutrition and encouraging regular physical activity are important steps in making sure our children have the necessary tools to lead balanced, healthy lifestyles. So this afternoon, slice up an orange — or pour a tall glass of orange juice — and celebrate “Fruit and Vegetable Month” with your family. We know we will.

And while you’re visiting the site, check out our water use comparison. You’ll find that our industry is an extremely efficient user of water resources. Even though water is a key ingredient in all of our products, our industry accounts for only 3/100ths of 1 percent of all public water usage. That’s just a drop in the bucket.

So take some time to learn more about our products – as well as our industry’s environmental stewardship. And if bottled water isn’t your beverage of choice, our industry provides a variety of other options – from soft drinks to 100 percent juice, energy drinks to sports drinks. You can learn all about the bevy of options on our products site.

Our companies make and distribute 100 percent juice, juice drinks, bottled water, flavored waters, enhanced waters, sports drinks, ready-to-drink teas and energy drinks. And they are continually innovating, in search of that next beverage that hits your taste buds or quenches your thirst just the right way.

We’re an industry that makes a beverage for your every taste and every need at every moment of the day. This is quite a change from just a couple decades ago, when a person’s “non-alcoholic” beverage choices essentially boiled down to soft drinks, some 100 percent juices and milk.

Check out the dynamic Products mini-site on our Web site to learn more about the products we make and what makes them so great.

This is a fun and interactive site that will enlighten you on the breadth and good taste of our industry. After you explore the site, we think you’ll agree that our industry is one of the most innovative and cutting-edge in the world.